


We Remember

by ImmortalCoelacanth



Category: Shadow of the Colossus
Genre: Dream turned nightmare, Focuses on the role the player has in sotc, Gen, Guilt, Judgement, Second person/reader POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 09:21:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14541606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImmortalCoelacanth/pseuds/ImmortalCoelacanth
Summary: You wake up in a strange place, and then they find you. “While you forget, we always remember.”





	We Remember

**Author's Note:**

> An explorative one shot that focuses on the effects of the player’s actions in Shadow of the Colossus, and the guilt that comes with it.
> 
> Please note that I have posted two different versions of this story on FF and AO3. This one is written entirely in second person while the other one I posted is written entirely in first person. I’ll link the other version at the end notes for those who are interested in reading it, just know that the story is the exact same.

Your eyes are closed but you can feel the warmth of the sun on your skin and the wind rustling your clothes. Curiosity blooms within and you carefully crack one eye open, wincing at the bright light above you.

 

The sun is out, but you had gone to bed.

 

Are you dreaming? This empty field with lush green grass and rocks that poke up from the ground is not one you remember ever seeing where you live, but there is something oddly familiar about it.

 

Nostalgia itches at your mind. You remember and yet you do not at the same time.

 

You stand up, the grass playfully tickling at your bare feet as you take the chance to further investigate the strange place you have found yourself in. Off in the distance you see what appears to be cliffs, and further to the right you notice bridges of land that connect one area to another.

 

Familiar, familiar, but there is some part of your mind that refuses to acknowledge this, the impossibility of it all.

 

There is a noise behind you, the sound of stone hitting something, and you spin around, confusion and fear rearing up in your heart. This new view offers you an interesting sight, there had been a building behind you. The structure is once again familiar, yet not. It is massive, towering, as tall as some of the buildings one might see in the heart of a city, but it is so much more than that.

 

There is an art to the way it has been constructed, you can see it in every arch and tower. The entire structure is open but enclosed, crafted so the light can reach wherever it can and leave little in darkness.

 

It dawns on you, this is not a regular building it is a _shrine_.

 

Suddenly pieces of the puzzle begin to connect in your mind even though you vehemently reject them, because there is _no way that is true I’m dreaming I have to be dreaming_ -

 

You hear another noise, this one sounding more like a hiss a snake might make, or a lizard. Your eyes are forcefully drawn to the shrine once again, the Shrine of Worship, and you see rocks beginning to fall from higher up.

 

You lift your gaze.

 

**“A tail trapped within a pail... a shadow that crawls on the walls.”**

 

The words resonate in your mind, bringing with them a sense of horror and _this isn’t real I’m dreaming please be dreaming-_

 

Kuromori hisses once again.

 

The Colossus looks just like it, _he_ , did in the game. Sharp glowing spikes protruding from his back, glowing limbs, a tail that looks like a fan, and a hideous face that makes your skin crawl. His eyes stare into you, radiating fury and hatred.

 

His _orange_ eyes.

 

You run.

 

Even though you are bare foot you do not feel anything breaking open the soles of your feet, and it is almost like you are flying across the grass as you sprint away from Kuromori. Another aggravated hiss escapes the beast and you hear a horribly familiar sound.

 

He was going to attack.

 

You fling yourself to the side, this time feeling the hard ground and stones scratch against your body as you slide through the dirt, and gas erupts where you had just been. Dream or no you had to run.

 

_Now._

 

You pick yourself up, not bothering to dust off the dirt that now clung to your clothing, and continue your sprint. Your goal is the narrow crevasse that led to the southern desert, the enclosed space would help to protect you from the lizard’s attacks. Granted the distance was far, but you had to try.

 

The screech of a bird rings out behind you and you do not need Dormin’s echoing voice to tell you which Colossus that is.

 

Avion soars after you, her calls filling the air. Beyond that you can faintly make out other noises, certainly from the other Colossi, and you pick up your pace. You turn your head for a quick second, trying to see what was happening behind you.

 

This move turns out to be your downfall.

 

You slam into stone, a pained wheeze escaping your throat, and collapse onto your back. You curl up, arms wrapping around your aching ribs, as you press your face into the ground. You knew you had not hit a wall, there were none in this open plain, which meant you had bumped into a _Colossus_. Terrified eyes lift from the dirt and gaze upward.

 

It’s Barba.

 

Undoubtedly one of the most aggressive Colossi you had fought during the game, and he’s standing above you. This dream was turning into a nightmare, fast.

 

Your heart pounds and your breathing quickens.

 

 _Escape, escape, escape_ every part of you screams and you try to listen. Ignoring the pain you shuffle backwards, doing your best to escape the burning gaze of the Colossus above you. The ground quakes, the others are approaching.

 

You have to move.

 

Fear freezes you.

 

You _have_ to _move!_

 

You pick your worn body up and turn around to find death facing you. All of the Colossi had gathered together while you had been preoccupied by Barba.

 

 _All_ of them.

 

Avion and Phalanx are circling overhead while the rest of the terrestrial Colossi were standing directly behind you, or resting in the dirt in Dirge’s case. It was a bit funny to see Hydrus perched on Basaran’s back, draped over it like some kind of scarf, and you might have laughed if the circumstances had been different, but the fear in your heart seems to have taken the air from your lungs. You could barely breathe, but then you notice something.

 

There was still one Colossus missing...

 

Barba shifts behind you, and you cringe thinking that the massive stone beast was about to step on you. To the contrary he merely walks around you, pinning you to the ground with the hateful look in his gaze.

 

Then you feel it, like knives digging into your back. You feel like you are going to throw up from the intensity of the sensation. Hesitantly you turn around and find yourself falling on the ground once again at the sight that greets your eyes.

 

Malus has arrived.

 

His form blots out the sun, casting you in shadow. When playing the game you had felt that the final fight did a good job at making you understand how small you were, how weak, compared to the literal mountain you had to fight.

 

That is nothing compared to... _this_.

 

His sheer presence leaves you breathless, makes you feel as small as an ant, and as pathetic as one too. You gasp and try to crawl away from the towering titan, skittering back on your hands and feet like some demented crab.

 

He extends a hand outward and you can feel the weight of the world pinning you in place, no, the weight of your _sins_ pulling you to the ground like chains.

 

Suddenly the landscape around you fades, leaving you in a patch of grass that is lit up by the sun above, a spotlight on a criminal. Malus is the judge and your victims are the jury.

 

The screeches, growls, and roars are translated and you can hear the shouts echoing in your mind and soul, engraving themselves into the core of your being.

 

_Murderer! Monster! Guilty!_

 

You look up and face Malus, a plea written on your face as you hold your hands out in front of you to argue your case, your innocence, but you see that he has already made his judgement. See it in his burning gaze as he glares down at you, see it in his body language, how everything is _tense_ with _anger_.

 

In the way his hands light up with _fire._

 

Your mouth opens and you try to speak but no words come out.

 

What defense can you provide that would prove your innocence? That it was just a game and that their lives held no true value? You can try to blame Wander, he was the one who had started their genocide in the first place, but then again it was _you_ who picked up the controller and decided to play.

 

The guilt grows, as does the fire.

 

You are going to die.

 

The attack is fired from his hand, aiming directly at your still form. Just as the blaze is about to consume you, you hear a voice. It is deep, rich, and masculine. Your skin prickles and shivers run down your spine at the intensity of it.

 

Malus is speaking.

 

 _“You may forget your sins, the atrocities you have committed against us, but know that we will_ always _remember.”_

Then everything is fire.

 

You wake up with a gasp, sitting up in your bed as one hand grabs at your pounding heart. The nightmare is still fresh and you can feel your limbs trembling. The angry snarls and ferocious noises the Colossi had made reverberate within your mind.

 

They were angry. They hated you for killing them, all because of some stupid _game_.

 

You were crying.

 

A shaky laugh. It was stupid to get so emotional over something that was not real, something that had never, and will never, truly happen in your world.

 

But it felt real.

 

The sensation of the wind blowing over your skin, the angry screeches and roars that filled the air...

 

The fire that seared into your flesh as Malus made you _pay for what you did-_

 

You wheeze, body shuddering as it begins to slowly get over the shock of what had just happened, and wipe at your too wet eyes. The shock of your _dream_ , because there was no way that was possible.

 

Finally your heartbeat calms and the gasping breaths fade. That had been the most realistic dream you had ever experienced in your life, and you hoped it would be the last one like that.

 

You lay down and try to go back to sleep, to forget what had happened, but every time you close your eyes all you can see are orange lights that seem to burn into you with their gaze and spurts of black blood.

 

_“One day, perhaps you will make atonement for what you’ve done.”_

 

It looks like you will not be getting any sleep tonight.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a review telling me what you think of this story, I’ve never written anything like it before so I’m curious as to whether anyone liked this style of writing, and if you wish to read the first person perspective you can use this link: 
> 
> https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12925587/1/We-Remember
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> -ImmortalCoelacanth


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